Punjab to admit students on basis of NEET merit

The Punjab government on Saturday decided to fill all medical seats in the state based on the merit of the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) held in May this year.

The apex court on Thursday had quashed the Medical Council of India's (MCI) notification about holding NEET-2013 for admission to MBBS, BDS and PG courses in all medical colleges across the country.

Following this the Punjab government was left in a fix as it had not conducted its own entrance examination. The department of research and medical education sought legal opinion on the issue."Having studied various aspects, we have decided to fill all the seats on the merit of NEET-2013," said Dr SS Gill, vice-chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences.

The other states were also conducting admissions on similar lines, he said.

All medical colleges in the state are affiliated to Baba Farid University that conducts counselling for all seats.

The decision has brought relief to medical aspirants and their parents who were feeling anxious after the court order.

The NEET-2013 was held on May 5 and around 14,500 students from across the state had appeared in it for undergraduate courses.

The 10 medical colleges in the state have 945 MBBS seats and 17 dental colleges around 1,200 BDS seats.

The MCI had barred two private medical colleges -- Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Jalandhar, and Chintpurni Medical College, Pathankot -- from admitting the students for the upcoming session. Following this Punjab lost 300 MBBS seats.